The Courtroom Work Group
Alethea Drury
CJA/204
Ron Alter
March 3, 2014

The courtroom work group consists of two different categories, the professionals and the outsiders. The professional participants are the actors, who tend to be well versed in trial practice and bring the courtroom to life. So, who are the main participants in this group? They are judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and other professionals. The outsiders include defendants, witnesses, jurors, and victims. All of these people have to work together to make the court room operate in a smooth, fluid manner in order to accomplish a common goal.

If you think about it, the court room work group should operate like body, where all of the nerves have to work together and communicate to function properly. The judge is the brain and controls how the rest of the body will respond and operate. The judge’s primary duty is one of ensuring justice. “In the courtroom, the judge holds ultimate authority, ruling on matters of law, weighing objections from both sides, deciding on the admissibility of evidence, and disciplining anyone who challenges the order of the court.” (Schmalleger, 2011, "Chapter 9: The Courts: Structure and Participants"). The judge upholds the law and makes the final decision. The judge’s main role in the court room is to uphold the law and the truth by making decisions that follow the law. He is responsible be being truthful and honest when it comes to making his decisions.

The Prosecution attorney has the role of protecting the victims by following the law and being honest. “The prosecuting attorney is the primary representative of the people by virtue of the belief that violations of the criminal law are an affront to the public.” (Schmalleger, 2011, "Chapter 9: The Courts: Structure and Participants"). The prosecutor is the one responsible for victims and makes sure that they receive justice. Another prosecutorial role is to be a partial legal adviser to some police departments. The attorney will assist by helping to guide the police in their investigations. The prosecutor has certain responsibilities that he has to uphold before, during and after the trial. One of the duties that he has is to seek justice and not merely to convict, but to see that justice is served. Once a trial begins, the prosecuting attorney must step up to present the case of his client and argue against the defendant’s case. The attorney will then present the necessary evidence and must try to convince, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty.

The defense attorney is “a trained lawyer who may specialize in the practice of criminal law. The task of the defense counsel is to represent the accused as soon as possible after arrest and to ensure that the defendant’s civil rights are not violated during processing by the criminal justice system.” (Schmalleger, 2011, "Chapter 9: The Courts: Structure and Participants"). The defense attorney’s main job is to protect the accused and try to prove that the accused is in fact, innocent. Another task of the defense counsel is right after the accused is arrested to ensure that their civil rights are protected in the criminal justice system. Once the trial begins, the defense attorney has the task of testing the strength of the prosecutor’s argument and preparing a defense to be used in the trial.

The jury is a group of twelve individuals that are there to present an unbiased decision based upon the facts that are presented in the trial. “Jury duty is regarded as a responsibility of citizenship.” (Schmalleger, 2011, "Chapter 9: The Courts: Structure and Participants"). The names of the jurors are collected from different data bases like motor vehicle records or voter registration rolls. The jurors have to meet certain qualification like being an adult, able to speak English, able to read and write, and the ability to follow instructions. Once at trial, the responsibility of the jury is to listen to all of the evidence presented, including the testimony of the witnesses, victims, and the accused. The jury will then meet for deliberation and make an unbiased decision based upon the facts presented. The final decision will be presented to the judge, and will be read out loud.

So, how do all of the groups interact on a daily basis? How does the judge make his decision based on the facts presented by all the present parties? When the trial begins, the prosecuting attorney will present his side of the case to the judge and the jury. While presenting his case, the defense attorney is listening and preparing his argument. The prosecutor will begin to bring the witness to the stand to testify against either the defendant or the victim. At this point, either the prosecutor will examine the witness about the crime. Next, the defense attorney will present his argument to judge and the jury. The attorney will make an effort to test every aspect of the prosecuting argument to find a way to disprove his point. Then he will bring his witness to the stand to be examined by the defense attorney. The witness will then be cross-examined by both attorneys. There are some instances in where the judge will have to mediate this process because either attorney may ask unnecessary question that may make the witness feel uneasy.
So what is the end result of this trial and was justice served? The end result comes after both parties have presented their arguments for their clients, reviewing the events of the trial, and the jury has met. So, some the events that has occurred during the trial would include the presenting of the arguments, bring forward the evidence, and the testimonies of witnesses. Once all of this has been reviewed, the jury will deliberate for an hour, hours, or even days until a verdict is met. Once the verdict has been made, the jury will then present their decision to the court. The jury will state that the person is either guilty or not guilty, and then the judge will make his final decision. Let’s say the person is guilty of murder, the judge will sentence that person appropriately. The judge has the decision to give that person life in prison or, if necessary, life in prison. In the end, the judge’s responsibility is to uphold the law by making sure the guilty is punished appropriately.

Reference Page
Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal Justice Today An Introductory Text for 21st Century (11th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.